Above The Sea

Chapter 20 - Audrey

"Wow....Eve you look....wow" I breathed, unable to take my eyes off her. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw the tail behind her. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Quickly, I kissed her, trying not to look away.

"I have a tail." Eve whispered, still staring at her tail.

"You do, and it's stunning." I answered, kissing her again. I could see the awe in her eyes as she moved her tail up and down, watching as the water swirled around her fin.

"And this is just the beginning. You ready to see our world?" Aunt Uri asked, gesturing to the depths.

"I think I am. If I'm already shocked, I can't wait to see the rest of it." Eve answered, squeezing my hand. I smiled, diving deeper into the water, pulling Eve behind me. Hearing her laugh made me go even faster, spinning and flipping around.

"Love, I can't! I'm not used to this like you are!" Eve called, the laughter softening the words. As fast as I could without coming to a screeching stop, I slowed down so Eve could breathe.

"Sorry, I forgot." I said, grinning sheepishly.

"It's ok Audrey. I will gladly watch you, I just can't do all the flips and spins. I'll throw up." Eve laughed, letting go of my hand. I smiled at her before continuing to do spins and flips through the water.

"She really is something, isn't she?" Aunt Uri asked Eve, their conversation barely in earshot.

"Yeah...she is. I'm so lucky to have her in my life." Eve replied, her eyes never leaving me. I smiled to myself as I spun around, elated to have the love of my life with me, even when we're in a new world.

After I grew tired of flipping, the three of us swam to the castle. Eve's face was constantly shining in amazement, her eyes trying to take in every little detail. We spent the next several hours hanging out with my sisters and showing Eve around the kingdom. Finally, the two of us retired to my room.

"I can't believe this is where you grew up. Everything down here is stunning." Eve sighed, collapsing on my bed.

"So is everything in your world. Including the love of my life and the woman I'm lucky to call my wife," I replied, laying next to her, "Tomorrow, I want to show you somewhere that's really special to me. The only person who knows about it is Fin, Sal, and him." Eve squeezed my hand as she heard my tone change when I mentioned my father. I had taken to calling my dad 'him', deciding he didn't deserve for me to refer to him as a parent. He didn't deserve to play the role in my life.

"I can't wait. For now though, let's sleep. I'm exhausted after today." Eve said, snuggling closer to me. Smiling, I ran my hand through her hair as we both drifted into dreamland.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not wanting to rush things, Eve and I slowly made our way to my secret cove. Before we got to close, I stopped, pulling Eve onto a nearby rock.

"Before I show you this, I want to say something. Even though my life was flipped upside down less than a year ago, I can't imagine my life had it not happened. I wouldn't be with you or have the incredible life I'm living. I would be down here, lying to myself and everyone else about who I really am. Thanks to you, I get to be true to myself and I never have to hide. I haven't been here in a long time so I don't know the condition it will be in. But before I came to the surface, this was my safe space. Like I said last night, I've never shown it to anyone except for Fin. I'm so lucky to be here with you. Thank you for agreeing to come here with me. I know that with you, I'll be able to do anything." I explained, staring directly into Eve's eyes. I could feel the tears in the corner of my eyes but I refused to let them fall. I couldn't cry now, not in front of Eve.

"Love...I'm the one who's lucky. If not for you, I would be married to some stranger. You've made life in the palace so much better. I would agree to go anywhere with you. As long as we're together, I'm happy." Eve replied, kissing my nose. I smiled and straightened.

"Now that we said that, let me show you my cove." I said, pulling her into my secret cove. I froze, seeing the devastation that had wrecked what was once so dear to me. All the flags were torn to shreds, even more than they were before. My collection of pins were scattered all over the place, many of them dented and scratched. My most prized possession, other than the flag Fin found, was shattered on the ground. I sank down, picking up the broken pieces of my glass ball. The glass ball had once proudly born the lesbian flag, the entire thing able to light up. Of course, it didn't work underwater but it was still beautiful. Now, it was destroyed. Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I saw Eve position herself next to me.

"Oh Love...I'm sorry this happened. I can tell how much work you put into this place and I'm sure that it was stunning." Eve apologized, her thumb wiping away tears I didn't realize fell. Taking a deep breath, I placed my hand over hers.

"It's ok. This place was where I hid myself away. I don't have to hide anymore. It's only fitting that my hiding place is broken, just like the mask I used to wear." I answered, a small smile appearing on my face.

"You're so strong, Love. Seeing the positive in this. That's one reason why I love you." Eve told me, kissing my nose. I smiled and rose off the ground, Eve following suit. I let the shattered glass sink slowly to the ground. Taking Eve's hand in mine, I smiled once more.

"Let's go home." I declared.

Eve nodded and together, the two of us swam away from the broken cove, my broken self who was afraid to be true to herself, and towards the future. Towards the beginning of the best life I could ever imagine. A life that included both the place I grew up and the place I became myself. A life that had the love of my life always by my side. The life I lived above the sea.